Protective device against biting of arthropods

ABSTRACT

A new protective device for use against biting of mosquitoes and other arthropods and in particular, a material which can be used in the manufacture of regular clothing or specialty clothing to protect an individual from bites from mosquitoes and other arthropods.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new protective device for use againstbiting of mosquitoes and other arthropods and in particular, a materialwhich can be used in the manufacture of regular clothing or specialtyclothing to protect an individual from bites from mosquitoes and otherarthropods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the most serious concerns of today's society is the transfer ofdisease from mosquitoes and other arthropods to humans. For example,every twelve seconds a child dies from malaria. Almost half a billionpeople contract the disease annually. One of the most common ways ofcontracting the disease is when a human is bitten by a mosquito whichcarries the tiny blood-dwelling parasites that cause malaria.

Many efforts have been made to reduce the spread of malaria. Forexample, mosquito larvae thrive in stagnant swamp water so draining ofswamps deprives malaria-carrying mosquitoes of their reproductiveenvironment. While drainage schemes have led to the eradication ofmalaria from most of Western Europe and the United States, the diseaseremains a serious concern in parts of the Far and Middle East and inSouth America and Africa where ninety percent of the world's cases arefound.

Malaria is such a large concern that it contributes significantly toeconomic malaise. The disease is transmitted by the bite of hungryfemale mosquitoes looking for blood to nourish their eggs.

A second disease which is carried by mosquitoes is the “West Nile” viruswhich inflames the brain. This disease has affected North America to avery large extent in the past few years and efforts have been taken tospray insecticides over large areas to try to reduce the mosquitopopulation.

Lately, various products have been designed and are on sale to protecthumans from the bite of arthropods such as mosquitoes to prevent thetransmission of disease. Various articles of clothing have been designedwhich are manufactured of mesh material which keeps out the small bugsincluding no-see-ums, black flies, mosquitoes and ticks. One suchproduct is available from Wisemen Trading and Supply of Athens, Alabamaunder the trade mark BUG OUT and is manufactured of a one hundredpercent polyester chemically resistant material. Other protectiveclothing is made of tightly woven cloth material which is too dense formosquitoes to bite through. The major drawback of this method is that itbecomes hot and sweaty in hot weather and is therefore uncomfortable.

Various other attempts have been made to protect humans. Althoughvaccines or chemoprophylactic drugs are available against vector-bornediseases such as yellow fever and malaria, suggestions have been madefor general protective measures against biting arthropods. Whilechemoprophylaxis is available for malaria, there are no similarpreventive measures for such other mosquito-borne diseases such asdengue. Suggestions have been made to modify patterns of activity orbehaviour to avoid certain times of the day such as the twilight periodsat dawn and dusk or in the evening when vector mosquitoes are mostactive. It is also suggested that long sleeved shirts, long pants andhats be worn to minimize areas of exposed skin.

Various repellents are also available such as permethrin-based productswhich enhance protection. These insecticides may be applied to clothing,shoes, beds, camping gear and the like.

A popular chemical found in many repellents containN,N-diethylmetatoluamide (DEET) as the active ingredient. It has beenfound that DEET repels mosquitoes, ticks and other arthropods whenapplied to the skin or clothing, Various formulations are presentlyavailable on the market.

One concern is the safety of the use of DEET for children. Theconcentrations must be reduced when applying DEET formulations tochildren which provide only short term protection. Also, DEET is toxicwhen ingested and may cause skin irritation in persons.

Other chemical products are being tested and evaluated as adjuvantsagainst several species of malaria causing plasmodium.

Significant disadvantages arise as a result of the use of chemicalproducts, including, the fact that the chemicals must be repeatedlyapplied as a result of “wearing off” over time and as a result of humanactivity such as sweating, showering or swimming. Frequent applicationof chemical repellents is also expensive and may harm the environment.

It has been estimated that at least eighty percent of human infectiousdiseases are arthropod-borne and are transmitted by insects, mites orticks. They have caused the death of hundreds of millions of people byinfecting them with pathogens that cause typhus, bubonic plague, yellowfever, malaria, dengue fever, sleeping sickness, encephalitis,elephantiasis, Leishmaniasis and yaws. Of these, mosquitoes have beenthe worst of all the disease carriers. More than three thousand speciesof mosquitoes have been described in scientific journals and mosquitoeshave been found in every country of the world.

From the viewpoint of the military, recent studies have shown thatarthropods can obstruct movement and field positions, preventconcealment and cover and disrupt manoeuvres and cause panic. There isclearly a lost work time, treatment and hospitalisation costs areincreasing substantially.

One of the problems encountered with respect to the netting which iscurrently available is that the netting all use a mesh which touches theskin of the individual. The problem is that when the arthropod lands onthe mesh, it can bite through the mesh itself thereby transmitting thedisease to the human notwithstanding that netting is applied to thebody. Attempts to try to keep a safe distance between the netting andthe skin by wide brimmed hats or hoops are impractical and oftenineffective. There is also clearly a problem in retaining visibilitythrough the netting. The alternative to netting is the use of tightlywoven material which does not allow the skin to breathe or to dissipateperspiration and is therefore very uncomfortable to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To at least partially overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, thepresent invention provides a novel protective device for use to assistin the prevention of the biting of arthropods.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a material fromwhich articles of clothing may be made to assist in the prevention ofbiting of arthropods.

To this end, in one of its aspects, the invention provides a reticulatedfoam for use as a component of an article of clothing.

In another of its aspects, the invention provides a reticulated foam foruse a component of an article of clothing to prevent an arthropod frombiting through the article of clothing.

In yet another of its aspects, the invention provides a reticulated foamhaving a density of holes from about ten per linear inch to about onehundred per linear inch for use as a component as an article ofclothing.

In a still further aspect of this invention, it provides a reticulated,flexible polyurethane foam characterized by a three dimensional skeletalstructure of strands for use as a component of an article of clothing.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a material for use in themanufacture of clothing for the prevention of bites from arthropodswhich comprises a reticulated foam.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a head covering made of the reticulatedfoam of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a head coveringincorporating the reticulated foam of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a pattern suitable for use in the manufactureof a head covering of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows the use of a head covering of the present invention on thehead of a person.

FIG. 5 shows the use of a head covering of the present invention on thehead of a person in a second position.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a first frame member for securing thetransparent shield of the reticulated foam.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a second frame member for securing thetransparent shield of the reticulated foam.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the securing of the transparent shield tothe reticulated foam.

FIG. 9 is a chart illustrating the resistance data of reticulated foam.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The protective device of the present application is made of areticulated foam having a density of holes from about ten per linearinch to about one hundred per linear inch with the preferred range beingfrom about ten per linear inch to thirty per linear inch.

The foam is preferably a reticulated, flexible polyurethane foam whichis characterized by a three-dimensional skeletal structure of strandswhich provide a ninety-seven percent void space. As indicated before,the controlled pore sizes run from a density of about ten per linearinch to about one hundred per linear inch which therefore guaranteesuniformity and predictability. This material can be shaped and colouredto meet a broad range of requirements and generally flexible, resilientand lightweight.

These materials exhibit controlled permeability and predictable surfacearea of the skeletal structure which is a direct function of the totallyopen pore cell size. Confirmation to contact surface and shape retentionis due to the resilient nature of the polyurethane foam which exhibitsexcellent holding capacity and low flow resistance as a result of thefoam's high void volume.

The material is quite breathable and wicks perspiration away veryquickly. There is no odour and the material exhibits low resistance toairflow. It is totally washable and susceptible to additional materialssuch as carbon to improve heat conductability of the material itself.

The particular advantage of using the reticulated foam is that itprovides a spacing between the arthropod which many land on the deviceand the skin of the human. The arthropod when landing on the devicecannot penetrate to the skin of the wearer of the device and thus thewearer is protected from bites from the arthropod.

The reticulated foam may be incorporated into any type of article ofclothing. These may include head coverings, jackets, pants, socks,mitts, overalls and the like. The present invention relates to the useof the reticulated foam as a component of an article of clothing whichcan be used to cover all or a part of the body.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is representation of a head coveringincorporating the invention of the present application. The headcovering generally indicated as 2 is made of reticulated foam materialand is shaped to fit over the head of the user. The head covering isplaced over the head and the head is pushed through opening 4 so thatthe eyes of the user fit within the opening 6. A transparent shield 8covers the eyes of the user.

An alternative version is shown in FIG. 2 wherein a flap 10 is moveableto close the opening 6 if desired.

The shield 8 may be secured to the head covering 2 in a variety ofmanners. For example, the shield 8 may be glued directly to the headcovering 2.

A preferred method of securing the shield 8 in place is shown in FIGS.6, 7 and 8. FIG. 6 shows a first frame 40 which is shaped in aconventional shape of sufficient size to cover the eyes of the user.Frame 40 carries on a first surface 42, a series of spaced apart femalemembers 44 and a series of male members 46.

As shown in FIG. 7, a complementary second frame 50 is provided whichcarries on a first surface 52, a series of spaced apart female members54 and a series of male members 56.

Frames 40 and 50 are identical in size. When frame 40 is placed overframe 50, the male members 46 correspond exactly to the female members54 and the male members 56 correspond exactly to the female members 44.

In a preferred method of construction, frames 40, 50 are identical andone is turned around to face the other so that the respective male andfemale members mate with each other. In this embodiment, FIG. 6represents a front view of frame 40 and FIG. 7 represents the rear viewof the same frame.

In this embodiment, the opening 6 is cut out of the reticulated foam 2.Frame 40 is placed on the inside of the foam 2 such that the foam coversthe frame 40. Frame 50 is placed on the outside of the foam 2, thetransparent shield 8 is placed therebetween and the two frames 40, 50are releasably secured together thereby sandwiching the foam 2 and thetransparent shield 8 therebetween.

FIG. 8 shows an exploded view of this embodiment. Frame 40 which carriesfemale members 44 and male members 42 is placed on one side of the foam2. Frame 50 which carries female members 54 and male members 52 isplaced on the other side of the foam 2. The two frames 40, 50 are pushedtogether thereby releasably securing together the female members 44 andthe male members 56 and the male members 46 and the female members 54.The two frames 40, 50 may be separated by forcing them in the oppositedirection thereby releasing the foam 2 and the transparent shield 8 toallow for replacement or cleaning of the transparent shield 8.

The advantage of this embodiment is that it allows for quick and easyreplacement of the transparent shield 8. The transparent shield 8 may bemade transparent or be made of a material such as to prevent ultravioletradiation from damaging the eyes. The shield 8 may also be polarized orcoloured to suit the desires of the user. This embodiment allows toquick and easy replacement of the shield or for cleaning of the shieldfrom time to time.

Clothing may be manufactured of the reticulated foam itself.Alternatively, the reticulated foam can be worn on top of the clothingor under the clothing if desired.

The foam has good flexibility and can therefore be compressed into apouch for easy carrying. Accordingly, it finds particular applicationfor the armed forces and also for sports events, cyclists, hikers,cottagers and the like. The material is breathable thus preventing heatbuildup. It also wicks perspiration away very quickly. The material haslittle or no odour and has a low resistance to airflow and is totallywashable.

If desired, additional material may be incorporated into the reticulatedfoam. For example, carbon may be incorporated into the reticulated foamto improve the heat conductability. Colouring may also be used foraesthetic purposes.

FIG. 9 is a chart illustrating the resistance data of reticulated foam.Four air velocities were selected, namely, 200 fpm; 400 fpm; 600 fpm;and 800 fpm. A sample size of 10 inches in diameter and 1.000 inchesthick plus or minus 0.15 was used. The pressure drop in inches wasplotted against the number of pores per inch in the sample size. Theresults are shown on FIG. 9.

Experiment 1

Referring to FIG. 3, a pattern 22 was first made of a simple sheet ofone-quarter inch thick reticulated foam having thirty holes per inch. Aclear view visor 24 made of thin Lexan (trade mark) was attached to thefoam using a silicone glue to cover the opening 26. The helmet was thensewn along a single seam 28 to produce the helmet as shown in FIGS. 4and 5.

FIG. 4 shows the helmet 30 with flaps 32, 34 outside of the shirt of thewearer 36. FIG. 5 shows the helmet 30 with flaps 32, 34 tucked insidethe shirt of the wearer 36. The wearer 36 then places the helmet 30 overhis head and tucks the flaps 32, 34 inside of his shirt as shown in FIG.5. After a recent rainstorm, the wearer walked through a mosquitoinfested forest for two hours. Following the two hour walk, the wearerremoved the helmet 30 for inspection and then inspected his body formosquito bites.

It was found that the wearer suffered numerous mosquito bites to allareas of his body which were covered with normal clothing but not asingle bite was located on the head or on the face of the wearer.

The wearer also reported no problem with respect to ease of breathing,comfort, hearing or visibility. The experiment was repeated with thewearer wearing eyeglasses and there was no discomfort felt by the wearerwhen the wearer wore eyeglasses.

Although it is acknowledged that this field test was arbitrary, it wasclear that the results showed that the mosquitoes could not bite throughthe helmet made of the reticulated foam of the present invention andthis helmet allowed the wearer to walk through mosquito-infested areaswithout being bitten.

While the invention has been described with respect to the preferredembodiments, many modifications and variations will now occur to personsskilled in the art. For a definition of the invention, reference is madeto the appended claims.

1. A reticulated foam for use as a component of an article of clothing.2. A reticulated foam as claimed in claim 1 for use a component of anarticle of clothing to prevent an arthropod from biting through thearticle of clothing.
 3. A reticulated foam as claimed in claim 2 havinga density of holes from about ten per linear inch to about one hundredper linear inch for use as a component as an article of clothing.
 4. Areticulated foam as claimed in claim 3 having a density of holes fromabout ten per linear inch to thirty per linear inch as a component of anarticle of clothing.
 5. A reticulated, flexible polyurethane foamcharacterized by a three dimensional skeletal structure of strands foruse as a component of an article of clothing.
 6. A reticulated, flexiblepolyurethane foam as claimed in claim 5 characterized by a threedimensional skeletal structure of strands which provide a ninety-sevenpercent void space for use as a component of an article of clothing. 7.A reticulated foam as claimed in claim 1 comprising a flexible,polyurethane foam and carbon incorporated therein.
 8. A head coveringcomprising a reticulated foam as claimed in claim
 3. 9. A jacketcomprising a reticulated foam as claimed in claim
 3. 10. A material foruse in the manufacture of clothing for the prevention of bites fromarthropods which comprises a reticulated foam.
 11. A material for use inthe manufacture of clothing as claimed in claim 10 for the prevention ofbites from arthropods which comprises a reticulated foam having adensity of holes from about ten per linear inch to about one hundred perlinear inch for use as a component as an article of clothing.
 12. Amaterial for use in the manufacture of clothing as claimed in claim 10for the prevention of bites from arthropods which comprises areticulated foam having a density of holes from about ten per linearinch to thirty per linear inch as a component of an article of clothing.13. A material for use in the manufacture of clothing as claimed inclaim 10 for the prevention of bites from arthropods comprising areticulated, flexible polyurethane foam characterized by a threedimensional skeletal structure of strands for use as a component of anarticle of clothing.
 14. A material for use in the manufacture ofclothing as claimed in claim 10 for the prevention of bites fromarthropods comprising a reticulated, flexible polyurethane foamcharacterized by a three dimensional skeletal structure of strands whichprovide a ninety-seven percent void space for use as a component of anarticle of clothing.
 15. A lightweight, flexible and resilient materialfor use in the manufacture of clothing for the prevention of bites fromarthropods which comprises a reticulated foam.
 16. A head covering asclaimed in claim 8 which includes a transparent shield releasablysecured to allow the user of said head covering to see therethrough.